Assurances
by Alexander1996
Summary: Two Englishmen investigate Arendelle two determine whether or not the country's queen is a threat; meanwhile, Elsa has political difficulties with her subordinates.
1. Broken

Chapter One: Broken

While Adrendelle was a monarchy, there hadn't been a monarchy for several years. As the late King and Queen had created a council to assist them, however, the issue was solved more easily than it might have otherwise been. The council had ruled during the regency period before their new Queen could take the throne, and now, Elsa could tell that they were not impressed with her.

Councilor Karl Leonardsen, the head of economics, had been glaring at Elsa since the moment she had arrived in the Council's chamber and sat down amongst them for her first meeting. The room was small, circular, with bookshelves and maps taking up all of the walls. The only other feature of note was the large oak table in the center of the room, built to allow ten to sit around it. At the moment there were nine people in the room: two guards standing by the only entrance and exit; Elsa, who was looking over a series of documents at the moment and ignoring the glares; Councilor Steensen, the head of agriculture; Councilor Leonardsen, who was continuing to glare; Councilor Erickson, the head of foreign relations; Councilor Arnesen, the head of internal relations; Councilor Haakonsson, the head of justice; and Councilor Hummel, the head of military.

Once Elsa had finished looking over the reports, she lifted her gaze from them to settle on her Council. "Leonardsen," she began, trying her best to ignore the look he was giving her. "I suppose that you wish to begin this meeting?"

"Yes," he began, his voice trembling with anger. "I don't suppose that you had any real, rational, reason for cutting off trade with Weselton?"

"Besides the actions of their Duke, no. I don't feel that I need another reason at the moment," she answered honestly. Memories of recent events flashed through her mind, unbidden. With a moment of slow breathing, she calmed such feelings.

"Well," Leonardsen continued, "because of your cutting them off, we now have to trade with France, and I cannot guarantee that we can continue with trading if we continue getting the same turnouts from there. Simply put, you forced Arendelle out of agreeable trades, ones that we needed. The amount of people without jobs has grown from this."

"What exactly have prices risen on?" Elsa asked him. Having been isolated for three years, and then gone completely for several weeks, there hadn't been much time to look over the state of Arendelle's imports. She privately wished that she had done so during her time on her own.

"Foodstuffs, mainly fruits that can't grow in this climate," Leonardsen answered. "The freeze also destroyed a good portion of our crops."

"Steensen," the queen turned to the short, plump woman that was on her left. "What can you tell me about the state of the farms?"

"Your Grace," Steensen began, with an air much calmer than the other councilor's had been. "The worst of the damage was near the palace itself, and in the close-by farmlands. A circle around ten kilometers in diameter worth of crops, centered around the capital, were utterly destroyed. Others have merely been weakened by the blizzard. Hence, the need to import new crops."

"Not to mention that with the sea frozen over at such an unexpected time, several of our ships are now in mal-repair," Councilor Hummel mentioned. "I need workers to fix those."

"And none of you bothered to check with one another?" Elsa asked rhetorically. "Start hiring people to begin repairs on the ships, as well as more people to help with replanting the farms. That way there are less people on the streets, and our fleets are fixed. Leonardsen, I'm sure that you are capable of finding ways to pay them."

The Councilor nodded, reluctant to say anything else, and pulled a sheet of parchment to himself, and began to write. "What of foreign relations, anything new to report?" the queen asked, turning once again to another.

"Nothing new. At the moment, we suspect that the other nations are evaluating the, change in scenery," Councilor Erickson said. "Another matter of importance, the British have lost their colony in North America."

"Their bid for independence was successful," Elsa wondered aloud, surprised. "Any thoughts on how that will change the current political climate?"

"They'll likely look into other colonies after this, maybe in the Pacific."

"Alright," Elsa let out a slight breath. With the British controlling the seas, there had always been a sense of pressure coming from them. Still, being thrown out of North America would hopefully give Arendelle some breathing room, especially to move their ships throughout the seas. "And anything else?"

"Corona had members of its royal family here, during the event," Erickson began, and Elsa noticed how he intentionally went out of his way to not refer to her actions by any sort of name. She silently thanked him for that, not wishing to remember what had happened. "They are fine, at this moment, and back in their homeland. They have expressed a desire, however, to send members of the royal family to Arendelle in some months for the purposes of a diplomatic visit. I have yet to give approval for such a visit, and was wishing for your approval."

Elsa nodded, keeping silent as she thought. There were dozens of small kingdoms that had yet to be gobbled up by the larger nations. Corona was one such place, located on the eastern coast of the Pyrenees. From what Elsa understood, their had been a succession crisis for over a dozen years. Like how Arendelle had yet to be taken into a larger nation, so Corona had avoided both France and Spain for years. The two had been allied for some years, as the smaller nations of the world often times had to stick with one another.

"Tell them that they are welcome whenever they wish to come," Elsa finally decided. "I suppose that they would prefer to further our alliance."

"I would hope as much," Erickson admitted. "I'll send the documents."

"Good. Do you have any ideas as to who they'll send?" Elsa asked. The last thing she needed was someone like the recent bout of diplomats in her life again. There were nights when she would wake up, frost covering her sheets, screaming as she remembered the horrid days that had just occurred.

"They're daughter has little experience in the world," Erickson replied. "They have mentioned potentially sending her." Elsa nodded mutely, not having anything else to say on the matter.

"And on internal relations?" Elsa asked, eager for the morning's meeting to be over. There had been several meetings scheduled in the afternoon, and, being her first day truly in the role, Elsa had wanted to take things at a slower pace than she expected she would be forced to take them at later.

"Nothing hugely," Councilor Arnesen answered. He was a rather stout man, with a double chin and a large onyx beard that covered most of his face. He was the one member of the Council that Elsa had met with regularly before. She had made acquaintances with the others before, but it had been her personal mission to make sure that she met with Arnesen several times before she assumed the throne. "The people have reacted, relatively well, I would say. Their loyalty to your parents has extended on to you." _Good,_ Elsa thought to herself, _the last thing I need on top of everything else is for an unruly mob._

"If there are no other matters of great import, then I shall take my leave," Elsa said. There were no other voices rising, so she stood, as did the others. They all bowed to her, and with that she turned to leave.

After a few hallways of turns, she heard someone walking beside her. Elsa turned to look, and saw that Arnesen was struggling to keep up with her. "Councilor," she said. "Is there anything that you need of me? I would think that the meeting went well. Relatively speaking." In truth, she had hoped that the others would be a little more accommodating, but she supposed it was better than demanding her abdication.

"You haven't seen much of what else they speak of," Arnesen replied. "You know how they can overrule your decisions so long as all of us vote unanimously?" After Elsa nodded, he continued. "They doubt that you can perform well. They intend on overruling you at every chance they get. Leonardsen is more blatant than the others, but they all intend on reining you in."

"And you?" Elsa asked. She noticed a thin veil of icy mist coming from her hands, and after a moment of focus it faded.

"I intend on remaining loyal to the family," Arnesen answered. "Your parents were good to me when times were hard for me. I intend on repaying them to the best of my abilities. Still, the others could remove me from the Council if they wanted to, and replace me with someone more to their liking."

Elsa gave a small smile, hoping to bring the older man's spirits up, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Arnesen. It won't come to that."

He shook his head sadly. "Don't be so sure. This nation may look strong from the outside, despite what has happened. There is too much in-fighting, though. In truth, Arendelle is broken. A structure still made out of the scraps that it had once been. All it takes is a strong push to knock us over."

The rest of this fanfiction can be read at: /works/1137946/chapters/2301353 (put this after archive of our own on the URL).

Please do so (it has about 10 chapters so far).

**Update: Thank you to all the people who told me that the link was broken, it has been fixed. And apparently, after looking at an update, it hasn't. For whatever reason it keeps on deleting the first bit of the link, so I'll just tell you all that it's on Archive Of Our Own, under the same name. It has quite a few chapters on there, and I regularly update it there.**


	2. The Englishmen

**Chapter Two: The Englishmen**

Across the bay, a seagull's cry broke through the silent air. The air was heavy and clouds covered over the sun. _HBMS Lord Clint _broke through the waters, making its way closer to Dover with every passing moment. On board the ship, a cold, salty air gently caressed the bodies of those that were working, and sea spray splashed against their bodies. Inside of the captain's quarters, on the other hand, was calm and warm. A globe sat in one corner, and a large map was hanging from a wall, dozens of marks scratching the surface. The captain himself, always making sure to stay with the times, had scratched the word "Colonies" off of the large area of land, and had replaced it in scrawling shorthand with "United States of America". The captain mused at the map as he swirled a glass of liquor in his hand. "Times always change," he muttered in a volume that made him think that his comment had gone unheard.

The admiral who had been sitting behind him, however, had keen ears. "And with a change in times comes a change in venues. You have a sixty gun warship, I do hope that you aren't planning on letting it lie about."

"The war is over," Captain Peak pointed out, motioning at the map with his glass as he spoke. "The colonists won. I fail to see what you expect I should be doing."

"As I had said," the admiral replied, grinning slightly. "New venues. There are always places looking for newer, better, hands in management."

"I hope that you don't mean to India," Captain Peak grumbled. "The place is a death sentence. The people hate us, the land hates us. I don't care what sorts of spices can be found there. Or silks. Or the like."

"Do not worry, my dear captain," the admiral chuckled. "I do not intend on sending you to such a distant place. Have you ever heard of Arendelle?"

The captain frowned, then nodded slightly his head. "A small portion of Norway that somehow retained its independence despite all odds. Fertile, and the place had some small ports, but nothing of true importance," Captain Peak said, and the admiral nodded in agreement.

"Something has changed there," the admiral said. "It is the view of the crown that Arendelle is worth looking into."

"As a colony?" the Captain asked. The rest of Europe would be unhappy about such an action, but if it was the will of the crown, then he would do so.

"Perhaps," the admiral muttered, taking a moment to run a hand through his thick, brown beard. "We wish to have assurance that their queen will show more restraint than she has had. Otherwise, leave nothing left."

"Restraint?" Captain Peak asked.

"Yes. The frost that covered up the north sea a month ago is believed to have been her doing. If she cannot be controlled, then it would be most prudent to ensure that no such thing happens again."

"Her doing? How?" The frost had been only a slight thing, a thin layer of ice extending some hundred kilometers from Norway. Still, the event had baffled scientists from all over Europe, no one able to make anything of the freak weather.

"Sorcery, perhaps. We aren't entirely sure at the moment. We shall be bringing some more people onto your ship, to assist in your mission. Evaluate the risk that the queen presents, and react accordingly. We expect for you to be gone in two days, headed for Arendelle."

As _Lord Clint _broke away from Dover some days later, Captain Peak stood at the helm of the ship, watching the water. He could see his reflection in the cool blue water. The wind was strong today, stronger than it had been many days before, and he could feel it ruffle through his ginger hair. The color had come from his parentage, a sign of what he had accomplished. Despite being Irish by birth, he had come to captain one of the greatest ships in the British navy. And now, it was headed towards one of the smallest countries in Europe, save perhaps the Vatican. Peak let out a slight grin, as he was known to do before a mission began. He was ready.

Three days later, the _HBMS Lord Clint _broke solidly through the water ahead, moving powerfully to the coast. The small city of Ijmuiden was located directly ahead of the ship, and Captain Peak watched it approach from where he stood at the prow of the ship. This was their final stop before making their way further north, and Peak hoped to be done in Ijmuiden as swiftly as could be. The freezing of the North Sea was thought by some to have changed weather patterns for the foreseeable future. If he could, Peak would be in Arendelle before any bad weather could arrive from such changes.

A loosely folded paper was held in Peak's loose grip, flapping slightly in the wind. He looked down at it once more, reading the name and address of the man that would be brought onto the ship from here. Besides obtaining the meager amount of supplies that would be needed for the rest of their journey, Ijmuiden would also be where they met their expert for assessing the Queen. Peak had read over what he was given several times last night and this morning, wishing to learn as much as he could about his associate. Lord Randolph was a minor noble, born and raised in Leeds, he was notable for military service in southeast Asia, as well as some time in the Caribbean. He had graduated from the University of Oxford four years ago. What he was doing in Ijmuiden, Peak couldn't guess.

Half an hour later, Peak found himself at a fairly large hostel, near the waterside. It was a recent construction, Peak noticed, the year of construction posted on a bronze sign in front of the building: 1756. After adjusting his coat, Peak stepped inside. The lobby of the hostel was well furnished, with dozens of chairs placed around and rich carpets covering the floor. A fireplace was open and lit on the other side of the lobby. Peak looked across the room, hoping to find Lord Randolph on the immediate look-through.

Randolph was considerate at least, Peak decided, when his eyes settled upon the young Lord. He was sitting next to a small cherry table, on which a multitude of books were set. A bag was placed next to the books, as well as some instrument that Peak couldn't identify, which looked like a small spyglass with tongs on its sides. He was currently reading a book, as well as drinking what appeared to be a cup of tea. Peak moved over to where the young Lord was sitting, sat opposite of him, and waited for the young man to lift his head from his book.

After a moment, Lord Randolph looked upward. He was heterochromatic, Peak observed, one green eye and one blue showed from underneath of a sea of curly black hair. Randolph was pale, and his face was gaunt. Acne covered his naked chin, and Randolph pulled a blue scarf that he was wearing up over his chin after Peak looked there. The captain held out his hand, and Lord Randolph shook it, his own coat sliding down on his arm as he lifted it up.

"Lord Randolph, I presume?" Peak asked.

"Captain Graham Peak," Lord Randolph replied. "By all means, simply call me Randolph." He took a drink from his tea before speaking again. "I've been told that I don't quite make a fitting Lord just yet. I trust that your voyage was pleasant?"

"Pleasant enough," Peak replied. The boy nodded silently. "And so should the next part of our voyage. It would seem that the weather favors us today. Sailing should be smooth."

"Good," Randolph said. He set his current readings down on the table. Peak looked at it, it was a copy of Thomas Paine's _Common Sense_. Curious, Peak lifted the pamphlet, as the next book was written in some other writing system. "I get terribly sick while at sea," Randolph continued, "I hope that I will not spend to much of my time on board hurling over the side."

"You can take my cabin, if need be," Peak said. It wouldn't have been the first time that he had spent a deal of time with his men instead of the captain's cabin.

"Thank you very much, Captain," Randolph said. "I must say, despite my trepidation, I am very eager to see the ship. What is her name?"

"_Lord Clint_," Peak answered.

"Hardly a female name, but I suppose it will do," the boy commented, his tone making it clear that he was unaware of the insult. "Which Lord Clint is the ship named after, may I ask?"

"I am unaware," Peak admitted. He hadn't been the first one to captain the ship, in fact, it had been built and christened _Lord Clint_ before he had even joined the navy.

Lord Randolph made a small noise in the back of his throat that Peak wasn't sure what to make of. "Your accent," he began instead, turning away from the topic at hand. "You are from Ireland, are you not?"

"My father was English, but lived in Ireland since he was a child," Peak admitted once more. "My mother was an Irish native."

"Well, congratulations on your appointment, Captain," Lord Randolph said, reaching out and shaking Peak's hand once more. "You certainly must have had to work uphill for that, did you not." Peak didn't answer. "In any case, shall we be going? I would like to be getting this boat ride over as soon as possible." With that, Lord Randolph rose, taking one last drink from his tea. "If you would be kind enough to take these," Randolph gestured to the books as he slid his bag onto his body and took the instrument in one hand. Peak complied, picking the books up.

"What script is this one in?" Peak asked, gesturing as best he could to the book he had seen earlier.

"Oh, that one," Lord Randolph looked over at the book. "Devanagari. I learned to read it while in India for some years. Fascinating place."

"I've never been," was the only thing that Peak could think to reply with. Trying to think of a new angle for the conversation, he asked, "So, what experience do you have with things like this?"

"You mean with cryokinetics," Lord Randolph replied, letting out a goofy smile as he did so. "I wish I could say that I have met one before, but sadly I have not. Still, it should be exciting. If you worried over my credentials, there is no need. I am well learned in multiple areas of biology, as well as many theories of how energy flows through the body. I can only assume that the crown chose my carefully. I can assure you, Captain, you will not be disappointed."

"It isn't me you need to worry about," Peak said. "I don't think that anyone will be very happy if the entire North Sea freezes over again, or worse."

"How much do we truly know?" Lord Randolph asked. "We know that this Queen, Queen Elsa I believe is her name, is a cryokinetic—someone able to control ice—and that she was responsible for the thin layer of ice over the North Sea, as well as the frost over Norway. I have heard that it was worse in her home nation than elsewhere, but the question remains, how much can she truly do?"

"You want to encourage such things?" Peak asked. "She could freeze the entire world over." At this, Lord Randolph let out a hearty laugh. The scarf that he had pulled over his chin fell back down, but he didn't move to pull it back up.

"No, you misunderstand me, Captain," he said, still chuckling slightly. "It is not my wish to encourage such behavior. I was merely stating that, from a scientific perspective, it would be fascinating to know what the upper limit of her abilities are. And, while we are on the subject, I doubt that she could freeze the world over. She is still a human, after all."

"And how would you know that?" Peak asked the young Lord as they turned off of the street they had been on, coming to the harbor. _Lord Clint_ was facing them like a proud beauty, the bowsprit jutting out over the cobblestone.

"Just, when you think about it, there have to have been some other humans, before this Queen, that have had similar abilities. Even if the chance is only one in a million, that would still mean that there have been many such people. You would think that, if it were possible to freeze the world, that one of them would have tried to do it before? Just, maybe for now reason, try to freeze the world, just to see if they could do it. But, as far as we know, the world has never frozen over. Therefore, I see no reason why as to believe that this Queen has abilities to that level."

"I see," Peak said. "I must say, I agree with that. It is good to have you on board, Lord Randolph."

As he crossed the threshold onto the ship, the young Lord replied. "I would not miss this for anything."

**Notes:**

This story does take place about 50 years before Frozen actually takes place, I am aware of that. Also, it takes place in an alternate universe (for random example, Philadelphia is the capital of the U.S., as well as India being a much larger world power than it had been in real life). As always, a lot of this story can be read on archive of our own, under the same name, but the rest of the story will eventually be uploaded here.


	3. Landfall

Before I begin the story, I would like to say a few thingsI apologize for the ridiculously long time between posts. I have no excuse, and I apologize.I am aware Frozen takes place in the mid-1800s. The choice of moving back the setting was deliberate. In addition, this takes place in an alternate history where magic is a real (if extremely rare) thing that has had its hand in shaping history. Events and personages may appear that are historic, I will not be treating them entirely as they were in real life"Captain Peak's thoughts are his own, given his upbringing, career, and mindset. They are not my own in any way. Nor are any of the other character, even if I may agree with some things that they do.

Chapter Three: Landfall

Elsa had left several warnings to her younger sister that she would be busy through much of the afternoon, dealing with a variety of meetings, as well as petitions, and other businesses that she was required to look after. Therefore, it should have been no surprise to her that Anna would have been slightly more hyper than she had been on most other days. The princess was known for her amorous, yet aggressive actions, and the magnitude of such actions generally increased the longer she was kept away from the focus of her attention. Still, Elsa had not expected for her sister to all but literally barrel into her the moment she entered the residential wing of the palace. Half a tackle and half a hug, Anna's dive immediately threw Elsa off balance, and as the two fell backwards she created a large layer of snow to absorb the impact.

"You could just say hello next time," Elsa mock-groaned as she lay in the snow. She didn't mind the snow for the cold, as she couldn't feel it any more than someone else might feel a slight breeze. Rather, it was because when her powers weren't used in a reactionary manner, when she was completely calm, it was harder to utilize her abilities.

"Where would be the fun in that?" Anne grinned down at her sister. There was a look in her blue eyes, some might say more of a manic look, but Elsa would classify it as simple happiness.

"I suppose that if you hadn't done that, then I couldn't do this," Elsa smirked as she took a handful of snow from underneath of herself and shoved it onto her sister's head. The moment that Anna registered the cold she leapt off of Elsa, giving the queen more room to stand up from the floor. Elsa took the moment to force the snow to dissipate before returning her attention to her sister, who was now shaking her head around in an attempt to dislodge the snow.

"You're evil," Anna said in a mocking tone as she finally pulled a bunch of snow off from her neck and threw it at her sister. The matter didn't fly far; however, as Elsa waved a hand and caused it to disappear before it could strike her. Ever since getting a hold of her powers, she found it easier to destroy snow and ice than to create it.

"As if you aren't," Elsa replied in a similar tone, and continued to walk back towards her room. "If you hadn't tackled me, then you wouldn't have had snow to concern yourself with."

"You could have held up, just stood still."

"And you misjudge your strength," Elsa responded. If rumors were true, then the princess spent more time in the training grounds than most of the guards did. "I've always been wondering as to why you've trained so often."

"Simple," came Anna's reply. "I don't want another situation where I can't protect myself. I can fight off a bunch of wolves, but other humans are a different deal. You should try the same! We could practice together, it would be fun."

Elsa sighed slightly. "Your ideas of fun are different from mine," she admitted. Her own ideas of fun involved reading, or potentially drawing architectural plans. "Not to mention that I would prefer to use magic in combat, if I would ever need to. The whole 'Ice Queen' idea may be a bit cliché, but you can't deny that it certainly does add a bit of, what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Imagery," Anne suggested.

"Works for me," Elsa shrugged. "How was your day?" Elsa immediately regretted asking the question, as her younger sister seemed to take this as a prompt to launch into a retelling of her entire day. It was when Elsa had reached the door to her room, and Anna was still on the discussion of breakfast that the queen finally spoke up again. "Maybe you could give me the abbreviated version."

"Oh, well, we went and saw Marshmallow, me and Olaf that is," Anna began her tale for the second time. "We wanted to explore your castle."

"Marshmallow?" Elsa asked, almost afraid to know the answer.

"That's what Olaf calls your. . ." Anna struggled for a moment to come up with the right word, until finally settling on, "butler. He likes the name." Anna added. Elsa faked rubbing her head as if due to a migraine.

"That's what I get for letting Olaf name things," she said, just barely loud enough that Anna could hear. "New decree, Olaf may never name anything again."

Anna laughed, tilting her head back and making the beautiful noise. "Anyways," she continued. "I also did some drills, and then visited the local chemist. They gave me a medicine that should help." Ever since she had been frozen over, Anna had suffered from a chronic cough. Elsa nodded as she sat down at her desk, which was already stacked with various papers. Now, as she only needed to sign some documents, she had agreed to let Anna stay and talk. "I don't like the taste, though."

"What does it taste like?" Elsa asked absently, reading over a shipment plan before signing it.

"Mint," Anna made a face as she described the plant. Elsa ignored her sister's antics and returned her attention to the profiles that she had asked for. She needed to replace one of her councilors, but as to which one she wasn't sure. Leonardsen was the most obvious choice, though if one of the others was slighted, they could be a more dangerous threat. Arnesen and Steensen were the two that she undoubtedly wanted to remain on her Council. That left four potential others to be ousted from their positions. From that, she still needed to consider the potential replacements, whose profiles she had asked for. She briefly looked them over, before sighing in relief. She would have to speak with him, but it seemed that the potential choice for the Councilor of Economics had potential: having served as a high-up in the Honourable East India Company he would have experience with matters. She put the paper aside as a potential solution, then looked at the next one.

"It would seem that we're going to be having visitors," Elsa told her sister. "Two days from now."

"Who?" Anna asked, moving over to peek over Elsa's shoulder. Unfortunately for her, the back of Elsa's chair was too high for her to be able to look at the paper, and so she instead settled on looking directly over the desk, her head obstructing any view that the Queen had of the letter. "I can't read this."

"That's because you're looking at it from upside down," Elsa pointed out. "And move, I have yet to finish reading it." After Anna moved her head, she continued to read.

"A few diplomats from England are coming here. Maybe they're coming to talk about business."

"We do business with England?" Anna asked.

"Ice, primarily, and some timber that's native to Arendelle. It used to be our primary export to Weselton. Now that trade has been cut off between us, we've started looking at other places. In addition, we have started to buy any other resources that would have been heading there, and selling them to other nations. With any luck, they'll get back into our graces." Elsa sincerely hoped that the issue with Weselton could be solved quickly. She had kept trade with the Southern Nations because they had agreed to punish their Prince, but no such reparations had been promised from the small German state. Until such a time as Weselton would be more open, then there would be no communications between the two nations. Privately, Elsa hoped that she hadn't made the decision rashly. "How is Kristoff?" she asked, hoping to take her mind off of business for the moment.

"Fine, he's fine," Anna answered. "We talked about some things earlier in the week, got our relationship in order."

"And that is?" Elsa asked, letting an eyebrow raise.

"Friends," was the answer, and it shocked Elsa slightly. "We got caught up in the moment, and then there was the euphoria afterwards. He's nice, but, I don't know. Not the one, you know?" Elsa shrugged, not having the experience to know what to say in this regard. "Anyways, I need to go," Anna stood from where she had strewn herself across the desk and pulled a few pieces of hair back. It looked nice, Elsa decided, and she had to remind herself not to mention it. "See you later, alright?"

"Of course," Elsa replied, and she watched as her sister left from the room. Then she returned her attention to the papers on her desk.

The_ HBMS Lord Clint_ was met in the bay by a staggering old ship whose mast had cracked off near the halfway mark. A collection of motley sails were strung up to provide the ship with some form of movement, as well as the oars that they were using for propulsion. Captain Peak watched as the limping vessel drew closer, and held back the urge to grin slightly. He had heard that Arendelle's fleet had been devastated by recent events, but if this was the best they could send forth then there would be no reason to fear in case of a naval battle.

Beyond the ship in front of them, the rest of the kingdom spread out on the horizon. The capital city was on the waterfront, shrouded by the dark clouds that covered the sky. Beyond the capital and the brief level lands, the terrain moved up and into the mountains. Peak gazed up the river that flowed into the North Sea, watching it travel further into the fjord. The mountains here were surprisingly close to the coast, and Peak wondered how much land here could possibly be arable.

His thoughts changed as the ship in front of them came closer. He looked closely, and saw that it was named the _ARF Creon_. It was small, with sixty guns at most, Peak decided._ Lord Clint_, in comparison, boasted an array of one-hundred-and-two guns, more than capable of destroying the _Creon_ if battle was to come. His crew, just less than eight-hundred strong, would also be able to board the emCreon/em and take it over with minimal losses. Peak did not; however, need to worry in regards to battle. Both ships were, below the flags of their nations (_Lord Clint_ waving the red-crossed flag, and_ Creon_ waving Arendelle's purple and white checkered flag) were two flags of pure white, a sign of peace that they had both agreed upon. There would be no fighting today, of that much Peak could hope.

The _Creon_ groaned past, listed so badly that Peak could barely see its deck. A figure appeared on its deck, and hollered out. "Are you the captain?"

_No,_ Peak thought, _I'm the cabin boy and I stole his uniform._ He forgot the comment as swiftly as it came; though, and instead chose to lift himself to his full height and call back. "Yes, Captain Peak. You must be Captain Franz." There had been some small amounts of correspondence between them in the days before the voyage began. The other figure nodded, and Peak had to admit that Captain Franz looked much like how he had imagined him to be. Large and tall, the captain made an imposing figure that was only ruined by the fact that his uniform was nothing more than a grey overcoat and a cap. _Perhaps he hadn't the time to get dressed fully today,_ Peak wondered, but decided not to ask.

"You'll want to dock there," Captain Franz shouted, waving his hands in the direction of a long length on an empty pier, just over a hundred meters in length, Peak estimated. There would be more than enough room for _Lord Clint_ to find its way in there, and so after he gave instructions to the helmsman, he went into the captain's quarters.

"We've arrived," Peak said to Lord Randolph as he entered the cabin, causing the young man to look up from the book he was reading. "Do you do anything other than read?"

Gesturing to the large windows behind him, Lord Randolph replied. "Besides vomiting, no. Eating, sleeping, and vomiting are the only other things that I've found myself capable of doing."

"Well, I'm glad for you that we're here now," the captain said, leaning over to see the book. "What's this?"

"A collection of tales. This here is an un-translated copy of _The Lay of Thrym_, written by one of Arendelle's greatest scribes some time before they had a printing press, though the entire book is a collection of old Norse myths. This one is a favorite of mine."

"What happens?" the captain asked, taking a seat.

"Thor, their god of thunder, loses his hammer. Loki, the god of mischief, finds out that the giant Thrym has taken it, and Thrym tells that he will give it back if the godess Freya will marry him. Freya refuses, and so Thor dressed in Freya's place and attends the wedding with Loki. He retrieves his hammer after Loki convinces everyone that Thor is Freya, and then Thor defeats everyone in the hall." Lord Randolph had looked back down on the book, and as he looked back up Peak was caught trying to hold in a laugh. "Everything alright?" the young man asked.

"No, just the image of him dressed in a wedding gown is stuck in my mind," Peak finally let out a laugh. He thought he heard Lord Randolph say something in comment, but he didn't hear what it was. After a moment, he was calmed. "So," Peak continued, "Why read about the cross-dressing god?"

"Learning about a people's culture can help you to prepare you for them." With that, Lord Randolph shut his book and slid it into his bag. "I don't suppose that our Queen is going to be meeting as at the docks?"

"I would not think so," Peak replied. "I cannot imagine royalty acting in such a manner."

"A pity," Lord Randolph sighed as he continued to put objects away. "I had been hoping to get groundwork as soon as possible."

"Speaking on the manner," Peak began. "I need to speak to you on a matter involving this Queen."

"And that is?" Lord Randolph asked, sitting back down across from Peak. His heterochromatic eyes looked at Peak as if he was a child, being told the first serious thing in his life. _Of course,_ Captain Peak thought, _he is a child of nobility. This could be the first serious thing he has had to do in his life._

"What the crown needs to know is whether or not Queen Elsa poses any military threat. If sources are accurate, she froze the North Sea over by accident. If you think that she could become a threat, either because of her powers or because of any agenda, you let me know, immediately." Peak had built a career on being dependable, on being able to inform his superiors of all matters and trust their orders. He only hoped that the boy in front of him could do the same.

"What is our plan should she be a threat?" Lord Randolph asked. Peak all but rolled his eyes. _Can the boy not see it,_ he thought before answering.

"The _Lord Clint_ can defeat anything Arendelle with throw at us, with the exception of their Queen, and even her, maybe. If problems arise, I will need for you to come up with some way to neutralize the Queen, and then we destroy their fleet. If we have to, we take the Queen with us; otherwise, we kill her here." Peak found that over time he had stopped asking himself whether or not the actions he performed were right or wrong. _So long as the crown commands,_ he told himself. Lord Randolph must have been thinking along the same measures, because he did nothing save for nodding. His face was hard, more serious than it had looked in a long time. All throughout their voyage he had been in light spirits, even when he had been sick. The time that they had seen a whale he had almost fallen off of the ship trying to strain himself and see it. The second time they saw a whale, he did fall off of the ship and into the sea. While Captain Peak wouldn't say that Lord Randolph was annoying, it was certainly comforting to know that he could at least appear to be serious.

"Alright," Lord Randolph finally said. "Thank you for informing me of what could happen. I will be out in some time."

It truly ended up being some time before Lord Randolph pulled himself out of the captain's cabin and onto the deck itself. The lord was carrying several large bags, one of which was immediately taken by a sailor and set out on the docks. They had secured themselves several minutes before Lord Randolph had come out, and by the time that he walked across the gangplank, Captain Peak was discussing matters with the captain of the guard, a thin, young man who was going to escort them to the palace. Captain Peak had almost told the man that there was no issue, as they could clearly see the palace from where they were, but the captain of the guard had insisted. "Ah," the captain of the guard had said, causing Captain Peak to turn around and see that Lord Randolph was approaching, arms filled with bags and scarf wrapped around his chin. "You must be Lord Randolph." The captain of the guard stuck out a hand, and after passing a bag to Captain Peak, Lord Randolph shook it.

Taking back his bag, Lord Randolph replied. "The one. I hate to be blunt, but the sooner that I can speak with the Queen the better."

"Of course," the captain of the guard said, taking one of Lord Randolph's bags. They began to move, Lord Randolph still carrying most of the assorted bags, the captain of the guard trying to look inspiring while holding a large lime-green bag as well as holding the pommel of his sword (an act which he failed at), and Captain Peak carrying nothing but resting his hand upon the pommel of his sword.

"It's dark today," Lord Randolph commented. "Is the weather oftentimes like this?"

"No, not normally," came the answer. "On most days the sun is out. The Queen has taken to constructing a skating pond on the castle ground on most days when it is light out. As today is not such a day, I'm afraid you missed it."

Peak looked over to Lord Randolph, who shrugged. "I suppose that we can confirm that she is cryokinetic," Lord Randolph said. _Hallelujah,_ Peak thought, _now all we need to know is whether or not she can freeze the world. I can already see it, "World Destroyed by Adolescent Royalty". Joyous._ "So," the young lord continued as they passed a bookshop. "Could you tell us as to whether or not she caused the freeze?"

"She did, yes," the captain of the guard said, and Peak's heart sunk a little more. "It was an emotional time for her, from what I hear. From what I know, the magic is keyed in to her emotions." Lord Randolph nodded, and Peak had to keep from groaning. _We'll have to deal with a blizzard every month_, he thought. "But, she's managed to control herself since," the captain of the guard continued, "and from that we've gotten Olaf."

"Olaf?" Captain Peak asked. There had been nothing on any Olaf in his files. Quickly, he thought of all the different people that Olaf could be: a mercenary, a paramour, some new noble.

"A snowman she created," was the answer the came forth. "Little guy, he can walk and talk just like the rest of us." Captain Peak allowed himself to relax slightly, until he noticed that Lord Randolph's face had gone even more pale.

"Lord Randolph," Peak asked, and the captain of the guard turned around to look at the nobleman. "Is there a problem."

"Sapient snowmen," Lord Randolph muttered. "I need to see her as soon as possible. I did not expect this."


	4. First Contact

**Chapter Four**

**First Contact**

"Our assessment of the damage has been completed," Steensen began. She was sitting to Elsa's right, just barely out of her sight, and the queen had to turn to look at her. The older woman rubbed at one of her many wrinkles as she spoke, looking down at the polished surface of the council table.

"And?" Elsa asked after a moment's hesitation. On her left, Councilor Hummel rubbed at his forehead, which was almost on the table's surface. All around the table, most people were in similar states of exhaustion. "I'm assuming that everyone would be less tired if it was good news."

"Much of the same," Councilor Steensen admitted. "Total damages could run extremely high. The winter will likely take a toll on our people, more so than usual. The drain on our coffers should be similar."

"Right," Elsa murmured. "Nothing going right, sounds pretty familiar."

"Could you perhaps use your magic to slow the advance of winter this year?" Councilor Hummel asked, his head never leaving the same drooped position that it had been in for the past several minutes. He briefly brought it up, and Elsa saw the bloodshot green eyes that he had been hiding under a long dash of red hair. "I don't know if that's possible, but it seemed like a potential option."

"I. . ." Elsa began, but then stopped and looked down to her hand. She could still feel the hum of energy inside of herself, something she had noticed more and more as she had used her magic. It spread outward from her core, drifting through her body, until it reached her extremities. By the time it reached her hands—where she brought it forth into the world—she could barely feel it at all. "I don't know," she finally said. "I don't think that I'm anywhere near as strong as I could potentially be. And even then, I think my talents lie more along the lines of making things colder, not keeping things from being cold.

"That being said, I can try. I need to try, at the very least. We should get ready for the winter, start importing food. In the meanwhile, I'll work on ways to slow any winter storms that might come up." She breathed out. "This is a disaster."

"Well, now there's something that we agree on," Leonardsen's voice came from behind Elsa, and she looked into the hallway. The older man entered the room, a thick board delicately balanced in his hands. He set the board down, and began dispersing the mugs that were on it. "Thought everyone could use these, after the past few nights."

"Thank you," Elsa said quietly as she took hers, bringing it up for a long draught. Warm coffee filled her mouth, and she managed to open her eyes just a slight bit further than before.

"You may have just become my favorite person," Hummel said to Leonardsen before turning to Elsa. "While it's good that we now have a plan for the winter, there are more pressing issues. Namely England."

Elsa nodded. "Their 'experts'," she began, voice rising at the second word. "Did they arrive already?" After Hummel nodded, Elsa let out a light groan. "Shit." _Really, Elsa, how mature. You're supposed to be stonehearted in front of these people. Conceal, don't—no, damn it, that wasn't, just, ugh. _She banished the thoughts further into her mind and returned to the present. "Erickson, what can you tell me about them?"

Erickson shifted in his seat slightly before answering. "The more notable of the two is Captain Peak. Born in Derry, Ireland; he's a well-known captain in the British navy. From what I've heard, though, he's a bit of a black sheep among their own ranks due to his nationality, and he works to compensate for that. Intelligent, strategic, loyal, and brave, from what I've heard. All of those things straight to their faults."

"Alright," Elsa replied. "Difficult, but at least we know him. And the other?"

"It's funny you should bring up knowing, we know almost nothing about this Lord Randolph. When I heard his name, I asked around, but we know almost nothing. His father is a member of their parliament, but he has never been seen with his son, or even acknowledged the boy. Our agents say that he met with the Captain in Ijmuiden. University of Oxford, some military experience, but almost everything is only on the official documents. We haven't found a single person that has ever known him personally."

Elsa nodded and slid down slightly into her seat, rubbing at her chin as she thought. "Peak isn't the issue here, we already know what he should be like. Find out all we can about Randolph. Try the father again, find out anything notable about him, then go from there. What did Jean say about the two?"

"About Peak? Focused. About Lord Randolph? A child that just realized serious things could happen," Councilor Hummel answered. "Whatever the latter means. Your Majesty, I'm also concerned about their ship. I managed to see it myself. The thing could destroy the _Creon _in all but an instant. If they do decide to take military action against us, we couldn't stop them."

"It won't come to that," Councilor Arnesen said, causing Elsa to turn her head sharply to him. _I was just about to say that, _she mentally pouted at him. "If it does, we won't win either way."

"Not necessarily," Hummel countered, raising his cup to his lips. "I have made plans for us to hire mercenaries should the need arise; I've already contacted them and had them move nearby in case such a thing was necessary. Don't worry, Leonardsen," he added, tilting his head to the other councilor, smiling, and nodding, "I'm using some leftover reservoirs and my own capital for this. It won't cost the crown a pence more than we're already spending." Opposite of him, Leonardsen lifted his mug slightly.

_This is the power play Arnesen was talking about,_ Elsa noted. "I'll need to see detailed reports about these people before I even consider this offer."

"That should be the least of it!" Arnesen roared, rising to his feet. "Why would you put so much into this plan, Hummel? Don't you have faith in your own men? Besides, have you ever worked with mercenaries? Barbarians, the lot."

"I do, I have ever so much faith," Councilor Hummel answered, his eyes slowly moving from Leonardsen to Arnesen. Around the table, everything had gone quiet as Hummel kept his silence. He began to stand as well, slowly, and Elsa realized she was holding her breath. She looked down, and saw that her coffee had iced over. Glaring at it, she curled her hand up and focused on the energy inside of her, forcing it back to her core. The air around the entire table seemed to be running with energy, but as Elsa began to breathe again, it slowly dissipated.

"However," Hummel continued, "faith does not do much on the field of battle, I would rather have results. Yes, these 'barbarians' are not the ideal situation, but then, we are not in an ideal situation. I would rather keep Arendelle standing than to let it die because of a fool old man's pride."

"My pride is not the issue here," Arnesen said. "If my pride was the issue at stake, then I would have lashed and railed against these Englishmen for having dared step foot on our soil without our blessing. I only see reason, Hummel, unlike you."

Silence continued to rule in the room, until Elsa saw Steensen looking at her. _Of course. Now I control this mob._ "Enough," she said, trying to draw all emotion out of her voice as she stood. "We all have tasks to do, I would suggest that we get to them. If you require me, I will be meeting with these guests. You both are right. Hummel, we should hope to never need to cross them. Still, we should have a reserve plan. Everyone, you're dismissed."

The moment Elsa finished speaking, it seemed that the spell that held everyone motionless had dissolved. Arnesen turned towards the closest exit, and began to walk away. Elsa followed him, not caring to see what happened with the others.

"That was immature of you," Elsa said when they were clear.

"I know, and I apologize," Arnesen said.

"I take it that was a part of Hummel's power play." Elsa said as they started on the stairs.

"Most likely. In all honesty, I had expected for it to be Leonardsen that would make the first move. I never thought that Hummel would be the one," Arnesen said, and winced as he spoke.

"Don't worry about them for now," Elsa said, trying to make her voice as firm as she could. "Right now, the British are waiting."

"We've been waiting for a while," Lord Randolph muttered from where he was crouched on a plush chair. On the opposite side of the room, Peak was lying along a sofa, looking around the antechamber. It was a bright room, with triangular windows facing the north that the noon sun was shining through, lighting the semicircle of seating, which surrounded a low table. Two glass cups were sitting on the table, as well as a pitcher of water. Peak had touched his glass once or twice over the hour, while Randolph had reduced the pitcher to a half-empty state, and had just sat down from pacing.

"It's a common negotiation tactic," Peak said dryly. _This kid had better not be dead weight. _"Relax, and stop drinking all of their water."

"What do you mean, 'all'?" Randolph asked. "It's still half full." Peak gave Randolph a small glare, and the boy shrugged at turned in his chair. "Sorry. I'm just nervous; this is my first really important assignment. I don't want to fuck anything up."

Peak laughed at that, earning a glare from Randolph. "Sorry, kid," he said, face turning red as he chuckled. "I just didn't think you'd curse, you just seem so young."

Randolph turned briefly in his chair and sunk lower into it, before muttering just above his breath, "I'm twenty-two. I can say that sort of thing whenever I want to. Especially when I'm under stress, it works really well from me."

"Of course, wouldn't want to deprive you of that. So, if you don't mind me asking, how exactly are you planning on assessing how dangerous the queen is? I can't imagine that Oxford taught you how to deal with something like that. Still . . . she can't be the first witch that has ever been seen, especially by something as large as the British Empire."

"I can't say that there has ever been historical contact with a magician," Randolph said. "To be honest, most of what I'm going to be working with is mythology. Lots of cultures discuss magic in their legends and religions. I've gathered up as much information about those as I possibly can, and was planning on utilizing those to learn more about her majesty. I just hope that what I know will be enough to discuss things with her," Randolph explained. Peak nodded along, and turned his view to the door. The sound of footsteps, very faintly, was audible from beyond them. Randolph turned his head to look at the door a moment later, tugging his sleeves further down his arms as he did so.

"You're a bit late to be worrying about your looks," Peak told Randolph. The youth glared at him, an ineffectual gesture that was ruined by his youthful—and simply cute—appearance. Then, Peak heard the door open, and turned to face it.

Throughout his years of service, Peak had seen many people of authority. They often had similar physical features: strong postures, powerful gazes, and an air of grace. _I suppose I know have to add beautiful to the list of them. _

The doors had been opened by two men in uniform, and the queen stepped between them. The three entered the room calmly, and as the men closed the doors behind them, she took a seat in the closest chair. Blue eyes the color of the ocean pierced at Peak, and he sheepishly dropped his feet from the arm of the sofa. _Wow, Peak, what an amazing first impression. _A moment later, he noticed that Randolph was bowing his head deeply, and Peak followed the action.

"Your Majesty," Peak began the moment his head rose again. "I'm Captain Peak, this is Lord Randolph. We're here on behalf of the British Empire to open relations, as would be traditional with a recently crowned monarch. We regret that a dignitary was unable to arrive for the coronation; however,—" At this point, the queen raised a single gloved hand, and Peak slowed, then stopped speaking.

"Be honest with me, Captain, and I will be honest with you," she said. Her voice was calm and surprisingly strong, and Peak shifted in his seat. Opposite of him, he noticed that Randolph had sneaked the smallest of grins across his face before it disappeared again. "If England was interested purely in diplomatic relations, they wouldn't have sent a captain along with one of their largest ships."

Peak opened his mouth to speak, only for Randolph to cut him off. _Two for two, how fun._ "You're correct, your majesty," Randolph began, shifting to the edge of his seat as he spoke. He moved his hands up to rub at his chin as he spoke, finally shifting and steepling them just under his lips. "Many of the European nations are fearful of what you could potentially do using your magic. I was sent to learn about you, so as to give them reassurance. They doubt you, and I intend to prove them wrong."


	5. First Steps

**Chapter Five**

**First Steps**

"That good have gone better," Randolph said. The only reason he wasn't running his hands around was because they were currently clasped tightly on a canvas bag. Half an hour had passed since they had met with the queen, and now Randolph was heading to the room they had set aside for him. Captain Peak was holding the other bag over his shoulder.

"I wouldn't know," Captain Peak said. "My Norse isn't as good as I would like. I didn't know a quarter of the words she said, and only half of what you said."

"Only half," Randolph looked down. "Damn it," he said as he rubbed at his fingers.

"I'm sure that she understood more than I did," the captain said as they arrived at the door. Randolph opened it and stepped in, dropping his back in the corner and taking the other one from Captain Peak. The two looked around before the older man placed his hand on Randolph's shoulder. "I'm heading back to the _Clint_. I'd rather spend my time back on the ship, with my men. Best of luck, and stay safe. I'll check in daily."

"Thank you," Randolph said, grabbing onto the hand and gently pulling it off his shoulder. The older man nodded, then left the room, closing the door behind him slowly.

Randolph let out a slow breath and waited until he was sure that Captain Peak had gone a considerable distance. Then he set about unpacking his bags.

There was a small dresser in one corner of the room, as well as a desk, and a bed along the wall. It was a sparse room, but Randolph had spent time in worse ones. _Besides, I wouldn't blame the queen for disliking me at the moment. Damn ring didn't work. _With a snarl, he pulled the grey band off his finger and placed it on the desk. Next were his clothes, which he placed in the dresser, and a few books. The next thing he brought out was a makeup kit, primarily filled with skin whiteners. That was the first of several items he had kept buried near the bottom of his bags. Then came three other rings, which he quickly put on, a pouch of chalks, and a few maps. He briefly reached down and grabbed his silver pendant, letting it sway back and forth in his hand. _No, I don't need this as well, _he decided, and let it fall back into the bag. _Not yet._

_Alright, _Randolph thought as he sank down on the bed. _No need to rush into this, you have quite a bit of time. The queen is very powerful, that much you knew. Now we just need to find out how much she knows. _

_So what do I do? Ok, what would father do? Probably start talking with the people around her. It's a start. _

Steel rang against steel in the small yard. Located in the city proper, Arendelle's military had a compound. The small population led to everything involving the military being relatively small, the barracks, the armory, and the prison. Having stayed for a harrowing few hours within the prison, Elsa was keeping as far away from it as she could while she watched out over the yard, up on a walkway along the outside of the armory. Most of the soldiers were busy unloading crates of new weaponry, mainly rifles that they had purchased to replace the old crossbows. A few others were practicing swordplay. There were two; however, the Elsa was focusing on.

Anna was busy bashing at a man with a wooden sword. _Granted, _Elsa thought, '_trying to bash' would be better terms. _He was nearly a fought taller than Anna, and lanky, with much longer arms. Every time she came close, he would dart away, instead poking at her from out of her swing. Anna's style leant itself poorly to defense, and she was being driven back by wooden stabs more often than not.

For a few minutes, Elsa watched as her sister continued to move after her opponent, until she heard footsteps coming from her left. She turned, ever so slightly then, making sure that she still kept her eyes on the yard below while also seeing the man that was coming towards her. "I hope that I haven't taken too much time out of your schedule," she said. "Still, thank you for meeting with me."

"Of course, your Highness," Gregors Holt, Arendelle's Captain of the Guard, said as he came to a stop in front of her and bowed. "Councilor Hummel was actually complaining about you and Councilor Arnesen for quite a bit when he came back from the Council meeting. Councilor Leonardsen was getting quite frustrated with him when they were talking. Something about mercenaries."

"Right, right," Elsa replied. "Hummel is quite enamored with the concept of bringing mercenaries in to bolster Arendelle's military forces. Councilor Arnesen is fervently against the idea. Fervent enough that I'm assuming he has a personal reason behind his dislike of them. I was hoping that you might be able to tell me why this was the case."

Captain Holt nodded, and motioned toward the rail near Elsa. After she nodded, he took a seat on it. "I've heard small bits about the two of them, not as much as you would likely want to know."

"Anything works."

"Well, good, this is all rumor. Back a decade ago, we were almost dragged into one of the many wars between the German territories. One of your mother's cousins had called upon our aid to defend their territory, but your parents refused. Instead, your parents recommended a company of mercenaries that both Hummel and Arnesen were part of. Both were German natives, but spent much of their time in Arendelle. Arnesen in particular was a friend of your parents, and he was the one that suggested that the company be used in the fight. Anyways, the company destroys a town during the fighting, and only later do they realize that one of their families was in the town. Either Arnesen or Hummel's, whomever it was gets changed each time you ask someone different. I think it was Arnesen's.

"Regardless, Arnesen lost all faith in his company at that time, and left them. Fortunately for him, he was in Arendelle when he did so, and your father offered him a place. Hummel joined us not long after that. So if you ask me, Arnesen doesn't trust them because his family was killed by the company that he had been a part of, and Hummel. I don't know how it affected him, but I'd guess he desperately wants to think that they can redeem themselves. Honestly, Your Majesty, I don't know."

"Thank you," Elsa said. "Regardless of the veracity, I think that it's helped. I'm surprised that I never knew about this beforehand. Not the entirety of the story, but the smaller things. How we almost went to war in Germany."

"I've heard that you were in a pretty bad place when all of that was going on, Your Majesty," Holt said. "I don't mean any disrespect, but I think I can understand why your father would have tried to protect you." Elsa froze up at the sentence, her hands instinctively clasping together. He became quiet for a moment, before speaking again. "I apologize if I spoke out of my place."

"You were out of line," Elsa responded. "I'll accept it this once. Thank you very much for your time, Captain. I have no more need of your assistance."

"Of course, Your Majesty," he said, quickly turning and walking away. Once Elsa was sure that he had gone, she stood up. She could feel energy leaking through herself, could feel the temperature steadily decreasing as she pushed open the door and entered into the armory.

She came into a small room filled with swords on two walls, as well as a few suits of armor along the third. There was no one else in the room, and Elsa couldn't hear anyone nearby. After a moment, she threw her hand up, snapping at the wrist, and let all of the energy that was struggling to burst forth out.

Elsa took enough time to make sure that the energy didn't come out as pure magic. In the past weeks, she had discerned a difference in the forms of energy magic took. The way it was in her, completely pure, was the same kind that had almost killed Anna, the same kind that she woke up in the middle of the night screaming because of. Even when she had fought the Duke's men, she had brought that energy forth, transitioning it into physical ice after it was in the world. This time, she altered its state before it had ever left her body.

Icicles, a meter long each, ripped out of Elsa's fingertips and slammed against the far wall. Two of them shattered immediately, two others gouged into the wall, and a third went impaled a suit of armor, stabbing directly through the steel breastplate. The effort had used the energy that had been threatening to seep out of Elsa, and now she doubled over slightly, breathing deeply for a moment.

Elsa had taken to reading her father's journals whenever she had the time. He had mentioned the relatives in Corona and Germany a number of times, Elsa's progress with her magic (or lack thereof), as well as the tedium of Council meetings. He had mentioned visiting inland, a small lakeside village was the most common place, third only to Oslo and Stavanger. At one point, most notably to her, he had hypothesized setting aside a portion of the grounds to let Elsa use as much magic in as she had needed, hoping it would help her by exhausting her. He had immediately shut the idea down, not sure if it would work, and too frightened of the idea of someone wandering into it, especially Anna.

_Maybe he had the right idea, _Elsa thought as she let out a slight laugh. She steadied herself again, before slamming more magic into the wall. This time, she focused and a layer of frost danced across the stones, starting on the wall and ending there. _This is . . . cathartic, _she finally decided on the word.

For a moment, Elsa stood there, happily grinning at what she had managed to do. Then a sharp cry filled the air. Elsa clasped her hands over her ears as the noise assailed her, and for a breath, was disoriented. Then she realized what was happening. There was someone below her. Someone that had just screamed.

Randolph left his room, determined to try and find someone who knew the Queen. Preferably, it would be the snow creature, the one that was apparently called Olaf. The day was fair, by Randolph's own standards. The air wasn't that warm, and it wasn't raining. In fact, the clouds were just starting to dissipate, in time for Randolph to see the afternoon sky. He smiled up at it as he felt the heat reach his skin, before he began to head down an alleyway. A few people look at him curiously, but he brushed them aside and continued to walk. The layout of the city was something that he wasn't used to, but he had spent more than enough time moving through cities to know when he was heading to an isolated area.

After only a few minutes of walking, Randolph had managed to set himself down in an old alleyway. A small puddle filled a corner of the area, and Randolph moved around it until he had a suitable area to work in. Then, sitting down in the dirt, he set to work.

Having already decided it would take far too long to try and find anyone by walking, Randolph decided to rely on another trick. Taking his right hand and pushing it into the dirt, he ran it in a circle around himself, until he was surrounded by a thin line in the dirt. Measuring out the distance on the ground, he then began to create small lines radiating out of from the circle at equidistant points. Once a hundred and eight of the points were created, Randolph pulled one of the rings off of his finger and set it on the circle. _Please work, please work, _he began to murmur as he bit the inside of his cheek and removed the tiny piece of flesh and set it on the ring. It was one of the few things he knew how to do, a way that even non-magical folks could trace magic. It was one of the first things he had learned to do with his father, one of his happiest memories.

A moment later, the bit of Randolph on the ring began to shine, then merged with the ring. He gingerly picked the ring back up and let it balance on the palm of his hand. After a few moments, it began to swerve along a graceful arc, stopping briefly in one direction, stopping for longer in another, and for a flash in the last. _The last was the weakest active magical signal within the ring's range. Probably the snowman. _

Randolph stood and began to walk, keeping the ring in his hand and let it swirl around every few seconds. Then, as he was reaching the main road, he looked down. The ring had stopped moving, and was instead pointing straight down the direction toward the coast. Randolph watched it for fifteen seconds before it started to move again, then pocketed the ring and began to move in that direction, as quickly as he could. The roads were clear enough here that he didn't need to bring the ring out again, and after a block he slipped it back onto his finger, feeling the energy inside of it flow back into connection with him.

Randolph arrived at a large brick building near the water's edge, its yard filled with soldiers. He thought he briefly saw a small woman with them, but put the thought behind him. The ring flickered back towards the building, he could feel it move on his hand. _So, one huge usage of magical power, and now another, smaller one. _The ring flickered again. _And a third._

Randolph stepped towards the closest door, and began to push it open. The smell hit him first: ozone and burning. Then he saw what was in the room. Then he screamed.


	6. Ensign

**Chapter Six**

**Ensign**

Anna whirled around as she heard the scream, unsure for a moment of what it was. Her eyes quickly tracked the noise, and she was a young man—perhaps her age—recoiling from an open door. Without a word she tightened the grip on her sword and began to run over to where he was. She got there quickly, perhaps over a quarter of a minute, though she bent over to cough as she arrived, before looking in. When she did, Anna involuntarily took a step back.

The room ahead of her was old, dusty, with boxes stacked high on two walls. In the center of the room there was a space, maybe three meters by three, which had been swept free by careless movement. There was a man in that center, laying on his back, his skin stretched tight over his bones. It was worst on his bald head. His face was frozen in a grimace, and Anna could see a maroon, crusty substance along the man's neck, just above the color of his military uniform. Blood, dried. Anna followed the substance along the man's neck, down onto the floor, where it had dance along the stones. There was something else there, and Anna looked closer. Lines were traced along underneath of the man, and out from his body a ways, forming a set of circles that he lay within.

Anna continued to look at the body for a few moments before she noticed the man behind her, breathing heavily. She turned around to him, and saw the he was splayed out on the ground, one of his fists clenching uselessly in the air. "You've never seen a dead person before?" she asked as she stretched out her hand to him. He took it and she hoisted him up, giving him a moment to calm himself.

"No," finally came his answer. "You?" he asked as the others arrived. Holt was the first to arrive, giving off a strangled cry as he looked into the room. Unlike Anna and the other man, he moved inside quickly, along with two other soldiers, who quickly knelt beside their companion.

"Not really," Anna answered. "But my parents died at sea. For a while, I had nightmares where I would see their bodies, but this man only had his throat cut. It looks clean compared to what I had thought of."

The man nodded, and at the moment Anna heard another person coming close. Turning, she saw her sister swing around the corner, all but shouting, "What happened, is everyone alright?"

"Dead body," Anna quickly answered. "Found by this man," she continued, pointing to the brunet behind her. Elsa nodded and looked into the room, only to immediately yelp and move away. She dropped slightly, and moving away from her sister, leaned up against the wall. "Elsa, are you alright?"

Elsa looked over and grimaced. "I think I'm going to be sick." She shuddered again. "Definitely going to be sick. In the meanwhile, Anna this is Lord Randolph; Lord Randolph, this is my sister, Princess Anna."

Anna looked over to Randolph just in time to see him let out a tiny squeak and quickly dropping into a deep bow. When he rose, he smiled at her. "My apologies, Your Highness, if I haven't shown the proper respect to you."

Unwelcomed, a memory flashed across Anna mind—Han's bowing likewise and apologizing profusely. She took a slight step back, trying to think of something to say. _He isn't Hans, he isn't Hans. _"Apology accepted, Lord Randolph." _Yeah, you've got this polite shit. _Behind her, Anna could hear Elsa vomiting.

"Captain," Elsa finally said. "Who is the man?"

"Ensign Kozel," Holt answered. "He had just joined with us four months ago. Showed real promise too. Damn it."

"Alright. Lord Randolph, you were the one that had found him here. How did you come across him?" Elsa asked.

Randolph entered the room and took a look down at the man before turning to Elsa, clasping his hands behind his back, and speaking. "I was looking for you, Your Grace. I had been told that you were here in this area, and when I was unable to find you, I decided to try looking in the building." He looked back at the man. "Any ideas as to what the symbol below him is?"

"Symbol?" Elsa asked, walking closer to the body, flinching once or twice as she approached. On Anna's other side, Randolph looked away from the body after a few seconds. "The circle, you mean?"

"Yes. I'm just wondering if it happens to have any cultural importance, if this might be some kind of ritual killing," Randolph said. "I don't suppose we could have the Ensign moved?"

Holt and the others looked over to Elsa, and she nodded. They took Kozel and lifted him up, careful to not step on the circle as they walked out of the room. Unobstructed, Anna looked further at the circle. There were three other circles inside of the first, each shrinking into the center, connecting by jagged lines that danced back and forth along the ground. A number of runes were carved inside of the circle. Elsa knelt down and looked at them. "Take," Elsa finally said.

"What?" Anna and Randolph said at almost the same time.

"The runes say 'take' in Old Norse," Elsa said. "I don't know how important that is, but—oh God." She fell slightly, and immediately Anna was next to her, pulling her back up and supporting Elsa. The Queen looked into her sister's eyes, and as Anna watched Elsa pull the stony mask over her features as she had done several times in the past few weeks, Anna could see fear and pain trapped underneath of the stone.

"My sister needs to rest," Anna told Randolph. "Tell Holt and the others that they need to find out anything they can from Ensign Kozel and the scene, and report back to my sister." Not waiting to see if Randolph responded, Anna began to walk away, all but dragging her sister with.

"I need to stay," she could hear Elsa say, her voice weak.

"You aren't in any condition to stay," Anna retorted. "Besides, I'm not letting you go around this city with a murderer in it."

Randolph hovered around the three men for a little while, long enough for him to gather what he needed to. The Queen and Princess had left a little over ten minutes ago, and by now the Ensign's body was in a canvas bag, and the scene was being cleaned up for what seemed the first time in a decade. Randolph took one last look around, forcing himself to look down at the circle again, before leaving. Moving back through the streets, Randolph tried to filter things through his mind as best he could.

_All forms of magical theory agree that water washes away magical scent. The scene was so close to the sea, but the killer did absolutely nothing to clean up the site. Maybe they knew I was going to find the body, but that seems too far a stretch. More likely is that this person is a rank amateur. _

Randolph's ring was spinning around in his pocket, and he kept his fingers on the item, waiting for it to stop moving for more than a few seconds before he continued to follow it. The Queen, no matter how far away she was, was practically radiating magic right now, and the entire city was coated in the energy. However, Randolph had tried to attune his ring to the magical scent of whoever had been throwing energy around.

_The circle wasn't something I'd ever seen before, it could mean anything. Take, though, implies a certain set of meanings. The question is, which one of the possibilities it could mean. The circle was also carved by knife into the ground, and the Ensign was killed by a knife. I'm surprised the killer was throwing around as much magic as they had. Of course, the room smelled of ozone. Maybe someone capable of controlling lightning. The Captain had said the Ensign had suffered from some burns, so it seems logical. So, something like that in order to stun the Ensign, and then the knife to kill him. But the question is, why on Earth would someone do that? _

The ring was taking Randolph further out from the city, into a collection of small houses that started up the hillside. The ring was stopping for shorter and shorter intervals as he went on, but the initial intervals were too long to be anything else. _The scent is getting weaker and weaker. How is that possible?_

Eventually, he came to a small house on the end of one of the street, just large enough to be a single room, with an attic. He paused in front of it, slid his ring back onto his finger, flexed his hand, and knocked on the door. A moment later, the door swung open and a young woman, perhaps in her twenties, opened the door. "Umm, hello," she began, shaking the hand that Randolph offered. "I'm Mrs. Kozel, can I help you."

_Oh. Oh. _Randolph stepped back slightly. "Not, I'm afraid not. Wrong house, I've realized my mistake." The woman looked at him oddly, but then closed the door. Randolph hurried back to the military storehouse. _Gah, you idiot. Then. Take. Of course. _

Elsa threw up twice more over the course of the hour. Anna remained with her through all of it. After an hour-and-a-half, Elsa finally straightened up and walked to her desk, only to slump in her chair the moment she got there. Anna walked over as well, taking a seat in front of the desk. "Is everything alright?" Anna asked.

"The Ensign, his body wasn't normal," Elsa responded, her voice barely above a harsh whisper. Now that she was away from everyone else, Elsa was curling up, her arms tucking her legs in close to the rest of her.

"He was dead, Elsa, it's okay, it happens to everyone," Anna said. _What am I supposed to say here? Isn't this supposed to be the other way around? _"At least it was only his throat, he wouldn't have been in pain long."

"I don't know what you saw, Anna, but," Elsa continued. "It wasn't just his throat. I could see his rips broken, his torso ripped apart, bones jutting outward. There was blood everywhere, and there were _things_ writhing all along his flesh, eating it through. And no one else saw it. I feel like I'm losing my mind." Elsa ended in a whisper, tears beginning to spill forth.

"You are not losing you're—"

"Did you see that? Did you?" Anna couldn't say anything, only watch as her sister collapsed onto her desk, violently sobbing.


	7. Revelations

**Chapter Seven**

**Revelation**

"Where were you all day?" Randolph heard as he approached the palace's gates. On his left, Captain Peak was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. Randolph sighed at this and stopped, rubbing at his head. After the second time he noticed Peak walking over and grabbing him by the shoulder. "I was worried about you, alright. Don't just go running off for most of a day."

"Right, right," Randolph said, nodding as he did so. "I take it that you know what happened earlier today?"

"Heard about it. Dead person, that's what we're talking about?" After Randolph nodded, he continued. "Yeah, I heard from their captain of the guard. I must say, their ineptitude has shocked me quite a bit."

"Ineptitude," Randolph asked as he began to walk back towards the palace. Peak turned with him, and Randolph noticed that the scowl was keeping on his face. _Well, it seems like that part of him will never change._

"This murderer managed to kill a young soldier in the middle of their military base, without ever being found. And according to the guards, the body was relatively fresh, within the hour or so," Peak said. "I don't like it here."

"Neither do I," Randolph admitted. It was . . . discomforting to be in Arendelle, he had found. The tracking of magical energies he had done earlier had left him open to the changes in those energies, and they were always fluctuating, more than in any other place he had found. "The sooner I talk to the queen, the better."

"That's the good news," Peak said, and Randolph noticed the scowl was starting to disappear. "I managed to persuade her into seeing you when you arrived back."

"Thanks," Randolph said as he pulled the door to the palace open. He grunted slightly at the effort, but then Peak pushed at the door as well, and managed to get it to swing open with a small touch.

"Just make sure that you use your chance well," Peak replied. "I'm going to head back to _Lord Clint._"

"Are you sure you want to stay there?" Randolph asked, waiting by the edge of the interior. Peak stood still for a moment, then another, before shaking his head, and turning away. _He's always still, even when he's moving, _Randolph observed. _Whether it's physical or mental, he won't move from what he thinks is the right thing to do. _Randolph watched as Peak walked back into the night, red coat and brown hair disappearing into dark, and then he turned away, closing the door behind him.

The interior of the palace was softly lit by a number of lights on the sides of the walls. Randolph moved over to one to inspect it, and noticed that it was not in fact one of the modern electrics. _I hadn't thought that they had the most modern of items, I guess that this just confirms it. _Instead, the warmth of an actual flame was hidden by the glass, but Randolph could still feel it, and it made him smile. It was much warmer inside of the palace than outside, and he enjoyed that heat for a moment before setting off.

He stopped at his room, dropping his coat and boots there, and took a moment to inspect a map he had brought with him. A small bit of food had been left in his room, and after inspecting it for a moment he began to eat it. He ate quickly and with relish, then started moving.

The second observation Randolph noticed about the palace in general, was that it was a lonely place. There was no one around that Randolph could find, and the only sounds he heard were those from far away. The colors in the place, regardless of what color, were always hard and solid, and there was both too much and not enough light in the place for his liking. Nervously, he brushed his thumb against the rings along his right hand. Then he heard someone's voice come from down the hall.

"Are you insane," a masculine voice said softly, somewhere ahead of Randolph. "What the hell are you thinking meeting me here, of all places? You do understand that our enemies live here, don't you." At those words, Randolph drew back, into the corner, and brought his rings up.

_"__Chāyā," _Randolph whispered, and as one of his rings began to warm itself, he crept along the hallway.

"You may not believe me when I say this," another male voice responded. "I know what I'm doing, the question is if you do." There was a slight pause. "Don't tell me that you're planning on leaving her trust?"

"That woman is insane," the other one said, and as he spoke, Randolph crept forward. He reached the corner, and peeked around it. Two figures, both presumably male, were standing in the darkness nearby. Both were tall, and lean, one wearing a uniform similar to the soldiers Randolph he had seen before, the other wearing an old grey cloak. "I still don't understand why you were chosen to defeat them the first time," the uniformed one said.

"And yet, compared to all the resources that you have, I came so much closer to winning. In any case, why should we bother arguing over such things? I only need to know if you're still going with the overall plan. Are you still with her?"

There was a pause between them, before the uniformed figure spoke again. "No. From what I understand, she still has more than enough territory. Arendelle; however, is mine."

"If you can still mine," the cloaked one said with his rich, warm voice. At that point, he turned away, and walked down the hall. The uniformed man watched as the other one left, and Randolph moved through the hallway, as close to them as he could. In the shadows, Randolph tried to move silently, ducking behind the uniformed figure, and moving after the cloaked figure.

_What am I doing? _Randolph wondered as he followed the cloaked figure. _Even if I catch up with this person, then what will I be doing. _Behind Randolph, he could hear the other man walking away. He breathed a sigh of relief and reached down to his ring, which was much warmer now than he had thought it should have been. _"Chāyā," _he whispered, and the shadows around him twisted and spread out; whereas before they had been concentrated around his figure, now they spread throughout the hall, returning to normal.

He turned the corner to see the cloaked figure moving away, and quickly pulled into a small alcove. There he sat and quickly began to trace along the floor, building a quick circle, before pulling his ring off and marking it with a dab of flesh from inside of his cheek. He intoned a word, calling upon the power of flesh, changed through the circle, and channeled into the ring, and slipping it on, felt two presences capable of using magic in the palace. One was in the direction of the uniformed man, the other was in the complete opposite direction, and contained several orders of magnitude more energy.

Randolph continued, unobserved, to study the two sources. _Uniform and the Queen, those are the two. _Her energy was more powerful, but wild, untamed. Even from far away, Randolph could feel it seeping out of her; there was so much energy it was actively pouring its way out of her, impossible to contain. The uniformed individual, on the other hand, was weak, weak enough that Randolph almost passed over it. However, the energy was carefully contained, pulled inwards and hidden deep inside of the flesh. This far from the figure, he doubted that he could understand more.

_Shit, shit, shit, _Randolph thought as he stood, shaking the circle away as best he could and retrieving his ring. _Alright. Tell the Queen about this, but that's it. Don't get involved._

The knock on Elsa's door came later than she expected, perhaps halfway to ten. It had taken her a while to recover from her earlier outburst, but found that she did best by throwing herself back into her work, not giving her brain enough time to focus on what she had seen. As such, she had worked for what must have been six hours straight, and as she rose to get the door, she found her back aching far more than it should have. She sighed briefly, then put it past her and made her way to the door.

Elsa opened it to find the man from England on the other side. _It was Lord Randolph, wasn't it? _

"Your majesty," he said, bowing slightly as he did, before extending his hand. She took it, shook it, and then opened the door further to allow him in. He stepped hesitantly forward, stepped into the space, and then slowly walked fully in. She looked up and down him, trying to notice as many things about him as she could. His hands were clasped tightly behind his back; his eyes were slowly looking from place to place, never settling on anything for too long; his breath was uneven, but slow, and becoming more even. _He seems to be nervous, but getting calmer. At least he's polite. _

"So," she started. "You want to know what I can do with magic?"

"Yes, your majesty" he answered. "That is what I wanted to find out, but I was hoping to speak on another matter as well." He paused briefly, and she noticed that his hands were moving frantically behind his back. _Definitely nervous._ "I apologize if I speak out of turn, your majesty, I have been out of sorts since I saw that man's body."

"It is no issue," Elsa said, walking back to her desk as she did so. She gestured to one of the other chairs in the room, and Randolph began to pull it over as quietly as he could. "And don't bother with worrying about customs, so long as I don't have to keep up appearances, then I don't bother to. For now, you can call me Elsa. Oh, and could you get the door for me?"

"Of course," he answered, walking to the door and closing it. "I suppose, if you're willing to use your first name, then you may as well call me Randolph."

"Well, thank you." _Ha, called it. _"First, I suppose that you'll want to know about the freeze about a month back."

"Actually, no," Randolph said, causing Elsa to lean forward slightly. "I just want for you to know that you aren't alone."

There was a slight pause before Elsa broke it. "I'm aware of that. I spend a lot of time with other people. Or . . . you're talking about magic?"

Randolph smiled, his tanned skin, surprisingly dark for an Englishmen, splitting and revealing his teeth. "More or less. If I may," he said, raising his left hand as he did so. Unsure of what he meant, Elsa nodded slowly. With that, he flicked his fingers, and between the thumb and the middle finger, sparks burst about, and a flame rushed upward, extending two inches from his thumb, starting as a dark blue and transitioning to lighter and lighter colors, until it was entirely orange. "There are more people like you than you would probably think," he said. "And we'd like to talk with you."

Across the desk, a thousand thoughts went through Elsa at once. For a few seconds, she was too focused on them to notice anything else, but then she saw concern in Randolph's eyes, and looked down. A thin coating of ice was starting to cover over the desk. Elsa looked down at it, almost glaring at the substance, and it started to recede. After that, she opened her mouth once, closed it, and then repeated the action again before finally speaking. "Where the fucking hell have you people been this whole time?" Immediately after speaking she clasped her hand over her mouth, only pulling it away to say, "Sorry for my language."

Randolph waited until she was finished before starting to laugh slightly. "It's no problem, really. I know several women who curse far, far worse than you do. And as to where we've been, I'll be honest, we didn't know about you until you froze over the north sea. Which is surprising, because I think that any arcanist—our word for someone who can use magic—would figure out pretty quickly. You're practically glowing with energy."

"I am?" Elsa asked. "Well, um, thank you for the compliment. So you're an arcanist too, evidently."

Randolph nodded, and snapped his fingers again. With a slight spurt, the flame that had been dancing around his finger suddenly vanished. "I can control fire, a gift from my father's side of the family."

"And you're speaking for some collected body of arcanists?"

"Right again," Randolph answered. "It's called the Arcane Council, and it's based out of Hyderabad. I was sent to fill you in on a few things, and train you, since it's clear that you haven't had much experience with magical activities."

Elsa nodded slowly, mind racing with too many different thoughts to make sense of them all. "I . . ." _I should have done better before. I can't trust him. I should never have used magic. I can't do this. I have to do this. _The image of Ensign Kozel's body returned to her mind. "I'm ready to start."


End file.
